[Dixielandjazz] The "business"of music

[Jim Kashishian]

>Interesting 3 minute perspective on the music business from Guitarist Dick
Dale.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AJxc3Lxn4o

More negative than interesting, I would say.  He ends by telling young guys
to get out there and play for nothing if they have to.  That's not a great
idea, and has been put down pretty strongly by some on djml in the past!

His comments on the record companies were partly true.  However, when a
record company puts out your music, they don't automatically own your songs.
You should still get the royalties, and the performing rights (if your
country pays those sort of things). 

What you won't get from the company is any money for the records they sell.
They contract you with a percentage per cd sold going to you, but then never
seem to be able to find the sales in their paperwork (nowadays...computers).
This is very true, but not for the famous, who have lawyers to protect
them...and, form their own companies, anyway. 

And, his comments on putting out your own cd's were limited in information.
If you want to do it legally, then you have to set up your own record
company (as he said he did), and that may be a bit much for many folks.  Big
names have their own companies, and many singers buy a song off a song
writer for a flat fee, and put their own names on the song as composers &
authors of the words.  That's how they get so rich!  

I believe in the U.S. you can record a cd & get it mass produced with no
legal problems, but in many countries, a company that makes large amounts of
cd's will require that you have all of the legal paperwork done & the taxes
paid before they will touch it. It is expensive & complicated in Spain, at
least.

Burning copies off your computer, pasting a label on, photocopying a cover,
and selling these copies is, in my opinion, a poor option.  Quality control
is nil, and many of these "hi-speed burns" have glitches (noise and digital
drops).

Jim